President Bola Tinubu has rejected a N942bn proposal by the National Population Commission (NPC) for the conduct of the national housing and population census.
According to insiders, Tinubu and the commission’s top officials discussed cost-cutting measures on Monday, February 24, 2025, at the State House.
Tinubu suggested deploying members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) for the exercise.
After being informed by officials of the NPC led by its Chairman, Nasir Kwarra, Tinubu committed to setting up a committee to align the census budget to the government’s existing financial reality.
In a statement titled ‘Nigeria draws closer to fresh census, President Tinubu to set up committee,’ Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, reported Tinubu as saying, “This stop-and-go behavior on the census cannot work with me. So we better have a clear path.
“I will set up a committee for you to look at the issues critically and do a source and application of resources. Where can we get help, and what can we lift before we embark on the proclamation?” Tinubu queried.
The government official said, “The main issue from that meeting was that the money they were proposing was quite a lot. It is around N942bn. That is almost N1tn. And the president felt that it was too much. That is why he said there would be a committee to look at the issues altogether because that cost must come down.
“He wants to do it. He wants the census to happen. But the cost is too high. His goal is that they should do it for less.”
Another insider at the conference revealed that Tinubu proposed a nationwide deployment of NYSC members to reduce personnel expenditures.
“He was even suggesting that they recruit youth corps members to make it cheaper,” the official revealed.
However, another source confirmed that the constituents and activities of Tinubu’s new committee were still unclear.
“We have heard nothing about that committee for now. It is still being put together as we speak. But the agencies concerned will be on it,” the source explained.
It was gathered that at the meeting, Tinubu had affirmed that the National Identity Management Commission must be part of the review.
“We must ascertain who we are, how many we are, and how to manage our data. Without an accurate census, we can’t successfully plan for employment, agriculture, and food sovereignty.
“So many problems come up without accurate data,” Tinubu stated.
The president also stated that government incentives, such as the sale and distribution of fertilizer, could be easily enhanced with more reliable data and demography.
He explained to the NPC delegation that biometric capture should be central to the process, with multiple identification features such as facial and voice recognition.
According to him, “We should work on our financial muscle well in place to lift our burden before we go and meet development partners for the census. We should work out the figures before discussing the role of development partners.”
Since former president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration ended in November 2006, Nigeria’s housing and population census has been plagued by delays and logistical challenges.
Although the NPC invested in new technologies, such as digital mapping and biometric capture, to improve accuracy and transparency, challenges such as insufficient budgets, unrest in particular regions, and the outbreak of COVID-19 all contributed to a succession of delays.
The 2023 census, in particular, has been postponed due to overlapping issues, ranging from budget restrictions to political shifts, making it difficult for stakeholders to complete preparations before Buhari leaves office.
Plans to reschedule the census have also experienced challenges during the Tinubu government, as the Federal Government remained unsure about scheduling, methodology, and how to best capture data on large, transient populations, including internally displaced persons.
Meanwhile, Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, stated that census data would be critical to future planning and resource allocation.
The minister stated that the commission and everyone on the team were required to agree on the minimal amount that could be raised to assist the president in reaching the final decision.
“Mr. President, we have been having ecosystem meetings to link the identity agencies, even the geo-spatial chaired by the ministry, because of our mandate as the supervising ministry of the National Bureau of Statistics.
“So, the NPC, NBS, NIMC, Ministry of Digital Economy, passport, social register, voters register, and even telecoms data have been meeting with the National Space Research and Development Agency to see how much is available to the government regarding data and how much optimization can take place.”
In his presentation, the NPC chairman stated that 760,000 tablets had been obtained and held at the Central Bank of Nigeria, and that the commission would communicate with development partners to request assistance if Tinubu declared the new census.
